The Billionaire’s Housekeeper

She was wearing a long summer dress that George had got for her and a floppy hat and sunglasses. She was partially in disguise. She didn’t want any paparazzi to stop and ask her any questions. She was less worried than she had been before. If they asked her anything, all she needed to do was say that she was happy, and then go off on her merry way.

And Rita had been very happy as of late. She and George had made love at least three times over the last few days. Talking about it made her cl*t jump. She reminisced and closed her eyes.

“It was perfect. George is perfect,” she said dreamily.

“See? Aren’t you glad you decided to tell him how you feel?” Jose said. He playfully nudged her, and Rita tried to hide a smile. She was still thinking about the way George made her feel, whether being inside her or not.

“Yeah, I’m very glad.”

“Good! Because I haven’t seen you this happy since…” he paused to remember, “hell, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy. And who would have thought?”

Rita knew she definitely wouldn’t have imagined this moment. Two months ago she was still just the helper. She still had her secret, and she didn’t know what she was going to do about it.

George Ainsworth had saved Rita in more ways than one. He had saved her from the press, the authorities, and he saved her from hiding from her truest self. He saved her by making her feel worthy again. It didn’t even have anything to do with his money. He wasn’t the bragging sort; money was no object to him, though it could have been since he had been a billionaire and had come from money even before he began his business. They went to nice places, and sometimes Rita would wake up to a beautiful designer dress, or jewelry, or interesting pastries made by French chefs, but George was so down to earth that he never flaunted the money he did have.

“The thing is, our marriage isn’t going to be considered legal for almost 2 months,” Rita sighed. She knew that she could wait, but there were a number of things that could happen in that time. Julie could find a way to undermine George. She could claim that since there had been an affair, George broke the terms of their pre-nup and would therefore need to spend more time in court working out finances. Rita didn’t want George to have to go through any of that. It wouldn’t be fair.

“That’s nothing. Just enjoy each other until then, and celebrate when everything is legal. You can hold out until then,” Jose said.

”I hope so, Jose. I really hope so.”

*****

Rita was surprised to find George at the mansion. She saw his briefcase on the second floor beside an open door. He didn’t look as happy as he had been recently. He was sitting on the second floor balcony near Julie’s former studio. George hadn’t been in that space since the morning before everything had changed. His eyebrows were furrowed, as if he was having a silent argument in his mind, and he stared out into the garden.

“What are you doing home so early?” Rita asked. She tried to sound cheerful. She was still feeling giddy from spending the afternoon with Jose, and letting him in on the happiness that was going on in her life. He had dropped her off after their brunch, and she didn’t want to assume the worst just because of the expression on George’s face.